Question library
What do you need to know?
Start with a direct answer, then identify the fact to check, the records that help, and a neutral question you can ask. These answers do not decide coverage or give legal advice.
Getting started
Can we stay in the house?
Follow official restrictions and qualified safety advice. A short entry permission does not necessarily mean a home is safe to occupy.
- Check
- Who has authority or expertise to evaluate the specific hazard?
- Useful records
- Access notices, inspection findings, utility status, photos from safe areas.
Question prompt
“Please confirm any access restrictions, who can evaluate them, and what must happen before occupancy is reconsidered.”
A pipe leaked. What comes first?
Protect people, use qualified help to stop ongoing water when safe, photograph affected areas, and keep emergency-work records. Drying and rebuilding are separate scopes.
- Check
- Has the source been safely stopped, and is electricity affected?
- Useful records
- Source repair report, room photos, mitigation scope, drying readings.
Question prompt
“Please identify the source work, affected rooms, immediate drying work, and the records that will show drying completion.”
What do I say when I report the loss?
Report what you observed, when you discovered it, immediate actions taken, and urgent restrictions. Separate facts from theories that have not been confirmed.
- Check
- Can you distinguish what you observed from what someone concluded?
- Useful records
- Chronology, photos, emergency invoices, professional reports.
Question prompt
“Please provide the claim number, assigned contact, document instructions, and current deadlines.”
Should I say it happened today?
Use the date and time you actually know. Discovery may not be the same as the event or source date, especially with hidden water or gradual conditions.
- Check
- What date is directly supported, and what timing remains unknown?
- Useful records
- Discovery notes, timestamps, service reports, prior photos.
Question prompt
“I discovered the condition on this date. Please note that the source timing is not yet confirmed.”
Will insurance pay for this?
Coverage depends on the policy and facts. This guide cannot decide coverage. Ask for the insurer's explanation in writing, including the wording and facts relied on.
- Check
- Have you received a written, loss-specific explanation?
- Useful records
- Complete policy and endorsements, written decision, cause report.
Question prompt
“Please explain the policy wording and facts used in the coverage decision.”
How do I prepare for the adjuster?
Prepare a room list, chronology, urgent invoices, photographs, and an open-question list. Identify inaccessible areas and conditions that may change before inspection.
- Check
- Does your list include every affected room, system, and category of belongings?
- Useful records
- Room list, photos, chronology, reports, receipts.
Question prompt
“What will be inspected, what evidence should remain available, and when will I receive the written scope?”
Living elsewhere and belongings
Will they pay for a hotel?
Your policy, the reason the home is unusable, and the actual extra expense control. Ask what information, approvals, limits, and time periods apply before making a long commitment.
- Check
- What specifically makes the home unusable or unsafe?
- Useful records
- Policy, access restrictions, room and utility status, lodging receipts.
Question prompt
“Please explain what temporary living information and approvals are needed for this loss.”
We left after a fire with almost nothing. What should we track?
List immediate essentials separately from ordinary spending, save receipts, and record the displacement start date and any written approvals.
- Check
- Are purchases necessary and additional to normal household costs?
- Useful records
- Receipts, normal budget reference, housing messages, fire access records.
Question prompt
“Please confirm the process for essentials, temporary housing, pets, and any available advance.”
I do not have receipts for all my belongings.
Build the inventory from several sources: prior photos, order histories, bank records, manuals, model numbers, gift information, and household knowledge. Mark uncertainty instead of inventing details.
- Check
- Can each item be tied to a room and a reasonable source?
- Useful records
- Photos, statements, emails, manuals, serial numbers, inventory drafts.
Question prompt
“What alternative ownership and value records will you consider for items without receipts?”
The crew says to throw everything away.
Safety instructions come first, but ask for a written item-level or category-level reason and the evidence needed before disposal. Preserve a photo and disposition record when safe.
- Check
- Is disposal required for safety, or is it a proposed claim or cleaning decision?
- Useful records
- Photos, inventory, disposal authorization, cleaning assessment.
Question prompt
“Please identify what must be discarded, why, and what documentation is required before removal.”
Should all smoky belongings be replaced?
Not automatically. Material, exposure, condition, cleaning method, test results, and qualified assessment matter. Appearance or odor alone does not answer every item.
- Check
- Has treatment been evaluated by item type and material?
- Useful records
- Contents inventory, photos, cleaning protocol, test-clean results.
Question prompt
“Please identify the proposed treatment and completion check for each contents category.”
Their contents list is missing whole rooms.
Create your own room-by-room index and compare it with the current list. Note missing rooms, items, quantities, and supporting photos without changing the original version.
- Check
- Does every affected room appear in the inventory?
- Useful records
- Floor plan, room photos, both list versions, pack-out records.
Question prompt
“Please add the omitted rooms and explain how I should submit the supporting inventory.”
Estimates and payments
The contractor estimate is higher. Who is right?
The total alone cannot tell you. Compare work by room, then quantities, repair methods, materials, prices, and payment deductions. Differences may be supported, duplicated, unrelated, or still unknown.
- Check
- Do you have complete, dated versions of both estimates?
- Useful records
- Both estimates, photos, reports, revisions.
Question prompt
“Please show the scope, quantity, and price differences by room using the current versions of both estimates.”
What might be missing from an estimate?
Start with documented work, not a generic missing-items list. Check access, protection, demolition, cleaning, repairs, finishes, detach and reset work, permits, debris, and sequencing only where supported.
- Check
- Can each suspected omission be tied to a location and record?
- Useful records
- Estimate, photos, scope, reports, plans, contractor proposal.
Question prompt
“Please explain whether this documented task is included, excluded, or still under review.”
Why is the check smaller than the estimate?
A check may reflect a deductible, depreciation, prior payment, partial decision, lender process, limits, or disputed items. Reconcile the payment explanation rather than guessing.
- Check
- Can every deduction or held amount be identified?
- Useful records
- Estimate, payment letter, check detail, prior payments, policy.
Question prompt
“Please provide a line-by-line explanation of this payment and what may release any held amount.”
Will I get the depreciation back?
Eligibility and timing depend on the policy, completed work, deadlines, and requested proof. Ask for the exact requirements in writing.
- Check
- What does the written payment explanation require?
- Useful records
- Policy, estimate, payment letter, invoices, completion records.
Question prompt
“Please identify the policy provision, deadline, and documents required to request eligible depreciation.”
They say overhead and profit are not owed.
There is no universal answer for every loss. Ask how the work complexity, coordination, estimate method, policy, and state rules were evaluated.
- Check
- Is the response tied to this scope and a written basis?
- Useful records
- Estimate, trade list, schedule, written decision, policy.
Question prompt
“Please explain the factual and policy basis for the overhead and profit decision on this estimate.”
Planning the repairs
Only the burned room is in the estimate.
Document smoke, heat, water, access, contents, and adjacent-area conditions by room. Ask how each observed condition was evaluated rather than assuming the whole building is affected.
- Check
- Were adjacent rooms and building systems inspected?
- Useful records
- Room map, photos, cleaning assessment, inspection report.
Question prompt
“Please explain which adjacent areas and systems were inspected and how the observed conditions were addressed.”
There is smoke smell in the vents.
Record where and when it is observed and ask a qualified person to evaluate the HVAC system and proposed cleaning or replacement method.
- Check
- Was the HVAC system included in the assessment?
- Useful records
- HVAC findings, room notes, photos, cleaning protocol.
Question prompt
“Please identify the HVAC evaluation, proposed treatment, and completion check.”
Will they replace all the flooring so it matches?
Matching questions depend on actual continuity, availability, repairability, policy wording, facts, and state law. Document transitions, material identity, and availability, then request a written explanation.
- Check
- Is the flooring continuous, and is the existing material identifiable and available?
- Useful records
- Floor plan, transition photos, product information, samples, written decision.
Question prompt
“Please explain how continuity, material availability, repair method, and applicable policy or state requirements were evaluated.”
They opened the wall. Does insulation go back?
Compare what was removed with the rebuild scope, applicable code, assembly design, and documented pre-loss condition. Do not assume demolition lines automatically include restoration.
- Check
- Is insulation shown in removal records but absent from reconstruction?
- Useful records
- Demolition photos, drying records, estimate, permit or code notes.
Question prompt
“Please identify where restoration of the removed insulation is included in the current estimate.”
The contractor found more damage.
Document the newly exposed condition before concealment. Ask for the added work, reason, quantity, and cost in writing. A contractor change does not itself confirm insurance payment.
- Check
- Has the condition and added work been written up?
- Useful records
- Dated photos, change order, revised scope, insurer response.
Question prompt
“Please identify the newly found condition, added work, quantities, and cost in writing.”
They want me to sign today.
Urgent safety work may be time-sensitive, but a broad contract deserves review. Identify scope, price, cancellation terms, responsibilities, exclusions, changes, and payment before signing.
- Check
- Is this emergency authorization or a full repair agreement?
- Useful records
- Proposed contract, scope, credentials, estimate, cancellation notice.
Question prompt
“Please give me the complete agreement and time to understand the scope, exclusions, changes, and payment terms.”
Getting to the finish
Nobody is calling me back.
Send one concise written request naming the open decision, supporting document, prior contact dates, and a reasonable response date. Use the insurer's stated escalation or consumer-assistance path when needed.
- Check
- Can the unanswered issue be stated in one sentence?
- Useful records
- Contact log, prior messages, supporting document, deadlines.
Question prompt
“Please respond in writing to this open question and identify the next decision owner and date.”
Should I accept this amount?
This guide cannot decide whether an amount is adequate. Reconcile scope, estimate versions, deductions, policy explanations, and unresolved conditions before deciding whether technical or legal help is needed.
- Check
- Can you explain every major scope and payment difference?
- Useful records
- Estimates, payment detail, policy decision, photos, contractor proposal.
Question prompt
“Please provide the current scope, payment reconciliation, and written status of each unresolved item.”
How do I know the repairs are finished?
Compare completed work with the signed scope, approved changes, permits, inspections, and ordinary operation. Create a dated punch list before final signoff.
- Check
- Has every contract and change-order item been walked and tested?
- Useful records
- Contract, changes, photos, permits, warranties, punch list.
Question prompt
“Please identify remaining work, completion documents, responsible party, and due date.”